Monday 17 December 2012

Hostess Gifts Made Easy

                         Welcome!!

                A simple, easy project ,
      A  homemade  gift that everyone could use.

Christmas Potpourri........



ingredients you will need:

dried orange slices
dried apple slices
cinnamon sticks
star of anise
small pine cones
 dried lemon peel
whole cloves

I dry my own orange slices......
so easy to do........
slice them thin and then lay them on parchment
paper on a cookie sheet..........
at low temp in the oven 200 degrees .........
for about 2 hours.



Do the same with the apple slices.........

Once your fruit has dried..........
gather the rest of the ingredients....


I went out and picked my pinecones then washed them thoroughly.........
Let them dry in a warm oven ...... same as your orange slices............

Placed all my ingredients into a plastic bag...
give it a good shake then leave it  for about a week 
so the aroma or scents could take on the pinecones.

While this was curring...... I went about making
Cinnamon Dough shapes.......

These are used as tags or can go on the tree....

The ingredients you will need:
1 cup of applesauce....
1 3/4 cup of cinnamon.......
cookie sheet .....
parchment paper....

 
In a bowl add these ingredients.....
mix till the applesauce becomes dough....
roll out onto a flat surface and then 
 
Knead together .......   

Roll out a bit of dough to 1/4 " thickness and 
then use your cookie cutters to make the shapes.

I used stars, hearts and Christmas trees.

Use a straw to make a hole in the dough that
can be used to hang your ornament.

Lay out your shapes on parchment paper /cookie sheet and dry in a warm oven at 200 degrees  
turning them once, for 2 hours............

Once they have cooled you can add your 
hanger.......
I used twine........
I also used a chalk pen and added some sayings...

Now it's time to assemble your bags.

I use clear cello and cut them into squares....

then take a little bit of your potpourri
in the centre of the square..............
pull up the sides and tie tightly with raffia....
finish it off with a tag.........

Have fun with it.............


      Here are mine already to give out ........

          Gifts made......
          Presents wrapped.......
          Baking done..........
Bring on Christmas..................

           As always thanks for stopping by  
                         Linda

 There is still time to enter my giveaway!!
                        go here


 

 I'm linking up with:
Creative Cain Cabin
Shabby Art Boutique
No Minimalist Here
Alderberry Hill
 Between Naps on the Porch Met Monday
Debbiedoo's
 My Romantic Home
It's Overflowing
French Country Cottage
From My Front Porch To Yours
The Farmhouse Porch
The Shabby Nest
A Shabby Art Boutique
Be Different Act Normal
Savvy Southern Style
Nifty Thrifty Treasures
StoneGable Tutorial and Tidbits 
Miss Mustard Seed
Common Ground
Katherines Corner
The Charm of Home
Under The Table and Dreaming
Funky Junk Interiors.
Get Schooled Saturday 
Cedar Hill Ranch 
Home Stories A to Z 
  

                
  

13 comments:

  1. This is a really sweet idea Linda. I have done the orange slices and the cinnamon 'cookies' before and hung them on a small tree. I guess the pine cones should be cleaned and 'baked' to get rid of bugs.

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  2. Very fun and festive!
    Thanks for sharing.
    Hope to see you on my blog:)

    Happy Holidays and Warm Seasons Greetings from Singapore~Sanghamitra.

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  3. Busy...Busy...Busy
    You and Santa's Elves, eh Linda?
    Lovely idea...
    Running out of time,tho...
    No snow here...crappy and cloudy...

    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

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  4. These are so cute, and I can almost smell how great they would be! I'm pinning these for next year! Thanks so much for sharing.

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  5. Great idea! I'm pretty sure I'm out of time for taking on another project but I would have loved to have made those!

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  6. Fabulous idea! Thanks for sharing!

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  7. What a nice gift idea Linda! This brings back memories of many years ago making homemade potpourri and gingerbread men ornaments. Christmas Blessings to you my friend, Gail

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  8. Merry Christmas Linda...I just added your cute burlap stocking to my post. I know Peggy mentioned she saw it at one of my parties...I am glad you saw it today so I could add yours as well.

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  9. Good Evening Linda, What a lovely gift idea. I have a few friends who I'm not sure what to buy for....this homemade potpourri is perfect. Thank you so much for the idea. Best Wishes Daphne

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  10. What a great gift this makes. I love potpourri!
    Mary Alice

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  11. I can almost smell Christmas in the air! Wonderful potpourri and a great tutorial!!! I'll be making your potpourri and simmer it through Christmas... minus the pinecone of course.

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  12. Happy Holidays from my home to yours! This looks delicious. I am visiting you via Wow Us Wednesdays and I look forward to seeing you at My Dream Canvas!

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  13. What a perfect gift, I can smell is simmering now:) Delightful and heart felt thing to make. Thanks for linking up this week. If I have time I would like to use your recipe and make some for hostess gifts.

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